Dwaeji Gukbap, Jagalchi Market, BIFF – Busan

August 14, 2014Leave a comment

Garlic chives, kimchi, garlic, green peppers, onions, radish kimchi fermented baby shrimp, noodles

Our second day in Busan would also be our last full day, so we headed out early to try and hit up most of the tourist spots. For breakfast/lunch, we wanted to try the famous Dwaeji Gukbap, which is also known as pork soup and rice. Busan prides itself to have the best of this soup and there is even a street in the Seomyeon district that is filled with shops selling this soup. We headed there and just chose a shop. After placing our order, they brought us a huge dish. At first, I thought they were appetizers to eat, but we later figured out that you should put this into the pork soup. We didn’t end up throwing all these things in, since we weren’t sure. We did however throw the fermented baby shrimp in, which was quite interesting. It brings a bit of saltiness to the soup.

Dwaeji Gukbap

And the Dwaeji Gukbap arrived! The broth is a milky colour due to hours of boiling pork bone. You’ll find slices of pork shank and green onions in it. The soup is light but full of flavour. Super homey and is perfect on a rainy day. You are also supposed to put your rice in, but we didn’t know until later. Even just by drinking the soup on its own was absolutely delicious. I would say it’s one of my favourite Korean dishes! A must try in Busan!

Gamjatang

We also added a Gamjatang, which is a very popular Korean dish. I’ve tried it in Vancouver as well, but I found the broth to taste a little different here. Gamjatang is a soup made of pork spine, vegetables, green onions, and hot peppers. It comes sizzling on a hot pot to keep the soup hot. The soup is quite spicy, and is absolutely delicious with rice. It came with potatoes, enoki mushroom and other green veggies. The pork spines have bone marrow in it which is supposed to be really good for you. There’s surprsingly quite a lot of meat hanging on the bones, so you actually get very full. However, I still favour the Dwaeji Gukbap over this one.

After lunch we headed to the Nampo-dong area. Nampo is famous for shopping, but nearby, you will also find BIFF or Busan International Film Festival. The festival is held in October and is one of the largest film festivals in Asia.

Obviously the festival wasn’t happening when we were there, but you can still see something similar to the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

There are also various food stalls with long line ups. Food looked pretty good! We were all still full from lunch though.

Also within walking distance is the Jagalchi Market. It is the largest seafood market in Korea and is a top tourist spot in Busan. There are many restaurants here who will cook your seafood right away for you.

There is an outdoor market area as well as an indoor one. We took a peak in the indoor market and the floor was all wet and it smelled really fishy. We didn’t feel like going in, so we headed over to the outdoor market. The stalls sell a variety of seafood, from shellfish to prawns, crab, and fresh fish.

I think the most impressive part of the market were these huge octopi. Pretty much every stall sold octopus. They are ginormous! I believe you can also eat raw octopus here. They are supposed to suck on your tongue and lips, so you need to chew very quickly! I saw some that had been cut into bits already, but they are still squirming! Crazy… As a foodie, I should’ve probably tried it, but I just couldn’t… However, my Korean friends said they are really good and a delicacy!

Overall, Nampo is definitely worth checking out! Plus, you can check out BIFF and Jagalchi Market at the same time!

Mubanna Chondak (무봤나 촌닭): Korean Fried Chicken – Busan

August 13, 2014Leave a comment

After lunch in Myeong-dong, we headed to Seoul Station, where we would take the KTX train to Busan. Busan is the second largest city in South Korea and is the fifth largest seaport in the world! It’s famous for the beaches and seafood! If you want to travel to Busan from Seoul, you can get the KR Pass as a foreigner. You can get unlimited travel from 1 to 10 days, depending on the pass you buy. It’s a much cheaper deal. For us, we purchased the 3 day unlimited pass, and used it for a round trip. You also get a discount if you’re younger than 25 or are traveling with more than 2 people. Purchase it online before you go, and you can select any time after your reservation date. It took around 2 hours to arrive, but since we left Seoul late, we arrived early evening. We stayed in the Haeundae area, which is famous for the beach. We walked around the area and found a bunch of bars. We ended up looking for fried chicken, since we always see it in Korean dramas. The restaurant was called Mubanna Chondak and is a chain restaurant in Busan.

Kimchi and Tofu

It was really difficult to communicate in Busan, since they seemed to know less English. The server was still very friendly and tried his best to recommend us food. After ordering, he brought us complimentary appetizers. There was a size of kimchi, which I found spicier than usual. There was also tofu with sesame seeds on it. The tofu really has no flavour, but K loved it.

Spicy Octopus

Next, we tried the Spicy Octopus. It came on a grill on top of a hot pot stove. There were around 10 tiny octopi! After one bite, we all realized how spicy it was! Super spicy! Not to the point where I couldn’t feel my taste buds anymore, but one where I wanted to keep drinking water. The octopus was so tender though! The sauce was also really delicious. A definite recommend!

Boneless Chicken in Chili Pepper Paste Sauce

The server recommended us to get the Boneless Chicken in Chili Pepper Paste Sauce. He said it’s one of the more popular dishes. Again, it’s in a chili pepper paste sauce, so very spicy. Definitely not as spicy as the octopus though. It’s a mix of chicken that isn’t fried or battered, and is mixed with rice cake, corn, peas and comes with a side of noodles. You’re supposed to mix the noodles with the chicken, which I found quite interesting. We loved the rice cake mixed in and wish there was more. Sadly, we were looking for fried chicken, so we were a bit disappointed that we didn’t have the real fried chicken we always see. He also ended up putting down 2 orders of this, as he couldn’t understand what we wanted. Oh well. Tons of leftover though!

The chicken also comes with a cabbage salad that is topped with ketchup and mayo. This was definitely needed as our food was quite spicy!

Steamed Egg

Lastly, we also got a Steamed Egg, which is filled with green onions. Not bad, and was something to help calm our palettes down.

Overall, the food was actually pretty good here! It’s quite casual and almost seems like a fast food restaurant. I believe you can also choose the spice level for the food. We had asked for mild, but it’s still pretty spicy… I guess Koreans can really take their spice!

Myeongdong Yongyang Juk Yongyang Gyoza 明洞榮養粥、榮養餃子 – Seoul

August 12, 2014August 11, 2014Leave a comment

Our friend had a Seoul tour guide book she bought in Hong Kong, so we decided to put it to use and find a good restaurant. Off we went to Myeongdong Yongyang Juk Yongyang Gyoza, which is famous for their porridge and gyozas! It was only half empty when we first arrived, but it soon became packed with office people closer to lunch time. They speak a bit of Mandarin Chinese here, so if you know some, it’s pretty easy to communicate.

Vegetable Gyozas

First, we shared their famous Vegetable Gyozas. One order gives you 8 of these plump dumplings. They are just steamed, so there’s no crispy texture that you may find when they are pan-fried. The wrappers were thin to medium and filled with mainly chives and other green veggies. The chives definitely made the dumplings very flavourful. You dip these into a gyoza sauce that has a little bit of acidity. Very good!

Abalone Porridge

Next up, K and I shared their also very famous Abalone Porridge. In Korea, they call it “juk.” Whereas porridge we have in Canada is usually oatmeal, Korean porridge is usually cooked rice. This is very similar to Chinese porridge as well. Here, they also top it off with roasted ground seaweed and roasted sesame seeds. I should have probably put my spoon in to show the abalone as well. You actually get quite a few abalones in here! However, I found the abalone to be too tough and hard to chew. Would’ve liked it to be slightly softer. The porridge was very flavourful with a seafood taste to it. It also came with a side of roasted seaweed and seaweed salad. A little pricey, but definitely recommend trying an abalone porridge in Seoul!

Seafood and Green Onion Pancake

Since we shared the porridge, K and I also added the Seafood and Green Onion Pancake. Again, this was just average, with the ones in Richmond, like Haroo being much better. This one had squid and shrimp, and they didn’t cheap out on the seafood. I found it funny that they don’t really cut up their green onions, but rather lay them diagonally so it completely fills the pancake. The pancake wasn’t as crispy as I would’ve liked it.

Ginseng Chicken Soup

The other girls each got the Ginseng Chicken Soup. Ginseng is a super popular ingredient to use in Korean cooking, and they are famous for their Ginseng soups. The chicken is a whole chicken and was filled with rice. You should pull the rice out so that the rice is in the broth. Koreans love to eat rice in soup. Yummy!

Overall, I was very satisfied with the food here. A great place to try Korean gyozas and porridge. Average prices and you will get full! They also come with complimentary side dishes like kimchi, which you can serve yourself.

Address: 199-58 Euljiro 2(i)-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Korean Food in Myeong-dong – Seoul

August 11, 20141 Comment

Bulgogi

Hungry after a day of shopping in Myeong-dong once again, it was time to look for some food. There’s food literally everywhere on the streets, with many of them on higher levels of the buildings. So many choices that it’s actually hard to figure out what’s good. We ended up walking down the main street of Myeong-dong and closer towards Euljiro-1-ga station, we found a Korean restaurant that featured many barbeque dishes. They barely knew English, but with some hand movements, we were able to communicate. First, we got the Bulgogi, which had an amazing sauce, but we felt ripped off by the meat. Apparently, you are supposed to grill the meat on the grill on our own, but we were lazy, so we asked to have it grilled for us in the back room. We ended up getting a dish of meat that looked like leftover meat. Bits of minced up meat that you could barely pick up with a pair of chopsticks. The sauce however was very flavourful. We felt sort of ripped off since we got leftover meat, whereas other tables had normal looking meat…

Spicy Tofu Soup

Next was the Spicy Tofu Soup. It came in a bowl that would be suitable for a one person meal, but we shared it anyways. A spicy kimchi flavoured broth, with lots of soft tofu. The spice wasn’t too hot, and was delicious when eaten with rice. Tofu was silky smooth. It lacked any other ingredients though. Purely green onions and tofu.

Seafood Pancake

Last but not least was the Seafood Pancake. It came with squid and green onions. No other seafood. We were slightly disappointed with this since we’ve had way better seafood pancakes in Vancouver. This was seriously under average and it wasn’t even cheap. Prices were quite average here.

Overall, we were quite disappointed with this restaurant. I wish I had got the name down, but it was all in Korean. I’m also not able to locate it on Google Maps. But then again, food in Korea can’t be too terrible. It’s whether you want above average or not.

Caffe Artigiano – Seoul

August 10, 2014August 9, 20142 Comments

Grapefruit and Vanilla Ice Cream Patbingsu

Caffe Artigiano is actually a Vancouver based coffee shop, and I’ve actually been there once for a latte. I expected to see Starbucks in Seoul, but to my surprise, they also had a Caffe Artigiano. I don’t like to go into these international franchises when I’m traveling, but the other girls wanted a quick snack and to recover from all the walking. We ended up ordering some Patbingsu to share. I was surprised to find that they sold this at the coffee shop. I guess their menu is quite different so that it can cater to the Koreans. Patbingsu or Patbingsoo is Korean shaved ice and is often topped with sweet ingredients. My friends chose the Grapefruit Patbingsu, which brought some acidity to the dish. It also came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Quite refreshing after a long day in the heat!

Red Bean, Kinako, Mochi, and Vanilla Ice Cream Patbingsu

K and I shared the Red Bean Patbingsu. It came with some mochi slices, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and lots of kinako. Kinako is roasted soybean flour, which is slightly sweet. A very popular topping for patbingsu and mochi.

Overall, the patbingsu were average. I didn’t find them to be too special. Plus, I found it quite expensive. They were around $9 each, which is quite pricey in Seoul. I’m sure you can get it for a cheaper price.

Food near Ewha Womans University – Seoul

August 9, 2014Leave a comment

Ewha Womans University is a private women’s university in Seoul and is the world’s second largest women’s university. It’s filled with beautiful green gardens and is actually a famous tourist spot. Around the area, it’s known for great shopping for young women fashion with cheap prices. So on day 2, we did some shopping and decided to look for food around the area. Somehow, we managed to go onto this street that reminded me of Chinatown in Vancouver. It was a street filled with elderly and shops selling produce. We were probably in the wrong neighbourhood, but we settled for food anyways.

There were various elderly people sitting in this little shop. It’s run by a Korean man and his wife only. There was no English name, but I thought it would be worth blogging, since they offer some popular and typical Korean dishes. The menu is posted on the walls with colourful pictures and prices. No english at all though, so just look at the pictures and guess what it is. Prices are very affordable too!

It seems that it’s very common for you to serve yourself with appetizers in Korea. There are little stainless steel containers filled with kimchi and other pickled vegetables. You can just go grab some, as well as pour yourself some soup and tea. I think the owner saw that we clearly did not know what we were doing, so he ended up serving us. Super friendly service even though he could not speak a lick of English. Just point and smile, and you can get your way around!

Naengmyeon

For myself, I chose the Naengmyeon. I’ve had this in Vancouver as well, but I wanted to try it in Seoul. To my surprise, I would say the ones in Coquitlam around North Road are quite up to par. When directly translated, Naengmyeon means “cold noodles.” It’s sort of like the Korean equivalent of soba noodles. The noodles are long and thin and are often made from buckwheat. They are very chewy compared to the Japanese soba noodles. Served in a stainless steel bowl, it has a broth that is slightly tangy, some cucumbers, radish, and a boiled egg. It’s also topped with a spicy red sauce. What’s cool about the dish is that it also comes with a bunch of shaved ice so it really keeps the noodles cold. You can then add a spicy mustard sauce, which reminds me of wasabi to bring more flavour and spice to it.

Spicy Octopus on Rice

Some of the girls got the Spicy Octopus on Rice, which I tried some. They are baby octopus, and the spicy sauce used is a little sweet. Super tender and the flavour was definitely very appetizing. Mix it with the rice and seaweed, and you have yourself a delicious meal.

I believe this was the Grilled Pork Belly on Rice that my friend got. Not exactly sure though. Or it was something along the lines of grilled pork. Cut into thin slices and topped with sauce and sesame seeds. She said the meat was very tender and delicious!

Overall, we were all very satisfied with our meal here. Just wish there was an English name, so I could search up the location again to share with everyone. Oh and it’s interesting to note that at most of these restaurants, people just eat and go. They don’t sit around chatting for too long, so the turnover rates are really high.

School Food – Seoul

August 8, 2014Leave a comment

The next couple of posts will take you over the ocean and towards Asia! Just a couple of weeks ago, I traveled to Seoul, South Korea and Tokyo, Japan for some leisure travel, which also meant eating lots! We took United Airlines, which had a stopover in San Francisco, so it felt like forever before we arrived in Seoul. Their plane food was one of the worst I’ve had. Here, we have a salad with wimpy leaves, and something called General Tso’s Chicken… Ugh, it was absolutely disgusting. Sweet and spicy, but the chicken itself tasted so bad. The best part of the meal was that brownie… Plus service was horrid. It felt like the flight attendants hated their jobs and they were screaming half the time. I was woken up multiple times because they would roll their carts quickly and scream “excuse me, excuse me”. Never had such poor service on a long international flight before. I do have to note that this was the only case from San Francisco to Seoul. I took United Airlines from Tokyo back to San Francisco, and then Vancouver, and the service was much better.

And then we arrived! These are the streets of Myeong-dong, which is Seoul’s main shopping and tourist district. You’ll find every Korean cosmetic brand you need as well as international fashion brands such as Zara and Uniqlo. I swear we went here half our trip, since there is always a need to shop here! If you need beauty and skincare products – this is the place to go. Etude House, Innisfree, Tony Moly, Nature Republic, The Faceshop… just to name a few! You’ll also find the same store in almost every street. Each store located on a different street sometimes has different deals and products, so be sure to check them out before buying all at once! Another tip is to print off some coupons before hand by doing a quick Google search. You’ll find coupons for tourists for almost all brands.

We came across M Plaza, and a friend said that School Food is supposed to be quite popular. It’s a plaza with food and shops inside, but there weren’t too many people inside. It’s sort of hidden, and I guess tourists don’t usually find their way into here if they’re overwhelmed by the street shops. Anyways, School Food is a food franchise and is known for their tteokbokki and gimbap. They give you a notepad and pencil, and you just write down what you want off the menu. Good for us, since we probably wouldn’t be able to communicate anyways.

Pineapple Soda

We saw the girls next to us drinking this blue drink, so we decided to order it too. It’s basically just soda that’s coloured blue. On top, there are some pineapples. It was a bit underwhelming, since we expected more flavour and surprise. Just tasted more like regular soda to me.

Soup

The server brought us each a soup which was complimentary. It came with these two bean curd like things, which were really good! The soup is a little salty, and reminds me of miso soup.

Assorted Gimbap

And here is our platter of Assorted Gimbap! Gimbap is what I like to call the “Korean version of sushi.” It’s essentially rice and seaweed with various fillings. Here, we had some fillings of shredded tuna, squid, pickles, Japanese shisho leaves and more. The black ones, were squid ink rice filled with squid. Some were also spicy. The majority of them were filled with some sort of pickled veggie, since Koreans love that sour and spicy taste. Sort of like kimchi. On the side, there was a mayo sauce for dipping. It was definitely an experience to try these different gimbaps! My favourite was the squid filled gimbap! I believe the platter was only around 21,000 won, which comes to around CAN$21!

Potato Croquette

Lastly, we also had a dish of Potato Croquettes. Nothing too special, but the batter was light and not too oily. Potatoes were mashed until they were soft and creamy. It also came with a salad with honey mustard in the middle.

Overall, School Food was a pretty cool place to try the gimbaps. It’s very casual in there, and you find many young diners. I’m guessing that their food is not as traditional, so it’s the perfect place to try modern Korean food.

More info:

http://www.schoolfood.co.kr/

South Korea, Seoul, Jung-gu, Myeongdong 2(i)-ga, 31-1
+82 2-727-3377

L’Opera Patisserie

August 7, 2014August 6, 2014Leave a comment

L’Opera is located on Minoru Blvd next to the shops near Hilton Hotel. It’s an odd location for such a fancy looking patisserie. But good for me, since I don’t need to travel all the way downtown for some good pastries! There’s also free parking behind the Sheraton/Hilton parking lot. Anyways, I’ve purchased a pastry for a friend here, but I haven’t actually tried them myself. C gave me a box of L’Operamacarons for my birthday, so I am finally able to write about them! It comes in a beautiful box with a ribbon. The owners are Asian, but had training in Paris, so the shop and decor are all very Parisian.

When you open the box, you have a little note which tells you how long and how to store your macarons. They use natural and organic ingredients, so they can spoil if not kept properly.

Green Tea, Caramel, Coffee, Chocolate, Pistachio, Rose

The macarons were actually quite small in size. Dainty and light. I found them smaller than the ones at Thiery. What I liked about them was that the colours were all very faint and light. It’s a sign that they probably didn’t use food colouring to achieve the colours. Creamy fillings and the shell itself is up to standards. I also like how they aren’t too sweet. My favourite was the coffee. It had such a strong aroma of coffee and I think there were some crushed coffee beans in it too.

Overall, very satisfied with the macarons at L’Opera. They come at around $2 a piece, so quite standard. It’s also super close to home, so I’ll definitely be visiting more often. They also have afternoon tea, which I hear is pretty good. Will definitely give that a try next!